Walter Sydney Adams

Walter Sydney Adams (December 20 1876 – May 11 1956) was an American astronomer.

Related Topics:
December 20 - 1876 - May 11 - 1956 - Astronomer

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He was born in Antioch, Syria to missionary parents, and was brought to the US in 1885. He graduated from Dartmouth College in 1898, then continued his education in Germany. After returning to the US, he began a career in Astronomy that culminated

Related Topics:
Antioch - Syria - US - 1885 - Dartmouth College - 1898 - Germany

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when he became director of the Mount Wilson Observatory.

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His primary interest was the study of stellar spectra. He worked on solar spectroscopy and co-discovered a relationship between the relative intensities of certain spectral lines and the absolute magnitude of a star. He was able to demonstrate that spectra could be used to determine whether a star was a giant or a dwarf. In 1915 he began a study of the companion of Sirius and found that despite a size only slightly larger than the Earth, the surface of the star was

Related Topics:
Stellar spectra - Spectroscopy - Spectral line - Absolute magnitude - 1915 - Sirius - Earth

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brighter per unit area than the Sun and it was about as massive. Such a star later came to be known as a white dwarf.

Related Topics:
Sun - White dwarf

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Walter Sydney Adams died in Pasadena, California.

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